China's second-quarter economic growth weakened more than expected to suggest the government may be achieving a soft landing for the economy.
Gross domestic product was 9.6 per cent higher than a year earlier. But some analysts said it had probably grown at a much slower rate from the first quarter and may have contracted.
The economy had been expected to grow 10.7 per cent in the year through the second quarter, partly due to a rebound after the respiratory illness Sars dampened output last year, according to a median forecast of eight economists.
Several economists said the figures pointed towards a soft landing, in which the worryingly fast growth of earlier quarters would ease to sustainable rates without turning into a bust.
China's economy is the world's seventh-largest, and it is increasingly becoming a driver for growth in other countries.